TripAdvisor users are accusing the site of deleting their accounts of rape & assault

[Tennis]

Users of TripAdvisor say their reports of rape and assault were removed by the site.

TripAdvisor users report that the site has deleted their accounts of being raped and assaulted while traveling. The users say they were told their reviews were deemed hearsay or unsuitable for the family-friendly site. The site makes money from hotels that pay commissions and advertising fees. A TripAdvisor spokesperson said that the company will introduce a new “badge” notification system.

The travel booking and review website TripAdvisor is built on trust between itself, its users, and the businesses that receive reviews and customers from the site.

But that trust is breaking in dangerous ways, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which found numerous examples of users reporting first-hand accounts of rape and assault in reviews for hotels and resorts, only to find that their testimonies had been removed by the site.

The users were given a variety of reasons for the deletions, from accusations of hearsay to violations of the site’s family-friendly policy. In one case, at least three users reported being raped or sexually assaulted at the same Mexican resort, only to find that their posts had been removed. The deletion of these reviews has likely resulted in subsequent travelers being put in harm’s way.

“Maybe we wouldn’t have gone or maybe that wouldn’t have happened to me,” Jamie Valeri, a mother of six from Wisconsin, told the Journal Sentinel, speculating as to how she might have been able to avoid being assaulted had a review of a prior guest’s similar experience not been removed from the site.

A scene from the Grand Velas Riviera Maya, one of the hotels where a sexual assault allegedly took place.

Like other review sites, TripAdvisor must strike a delicate balance between allowing users to speak freely and protecting businesses from lies or exaggerations, but it’s worth noting that the company receives advertising revenue and commissions from some hotels and resorts.

The company has a review filter and employees who monitor reviews they may deem unsuitable for the site. This review infrastructure includes some users and partners who work at or near the destinations that users can book on TripAdvisor, though the company has not been clear about how either are chosen.

A TripAdvisor spokesperson provided the following comment to Business Insider:

TripAdvisor has always maintained – since our founding – a strict separation between our commerce and content businesses. Despite assertions and statements made by a recent USA Today article, there is no tie between commercial relationships with our partners and how our content guidelines are applied to reviews or forum posts published on the site.

We apologize to the sexual assault victim, reported on in the article, who had her forum post removed 7 years ago on TripAdvisor. Since 2010, when the forum post was removed, our policies and processes have evolved to better provide information like this to other travelers. As a result, when recently brought to our attention, the victim’s initial forum post was republished by our staff.

In fact, a simple Internet search will show numerous reviews from travelers over the last several years who wrote about their first hand experiences that include matters of robbery or theft, assault and rape. We believe any first hand experience should be posted to our site as a means to communicate to other consumers looking for information on where they should travel.

We are horrified that this victim experienced this assault on her vacation in Mexico, and other travelers should be aware of this incident.

In order to better inform consumers and provide them with even more information about their travels, TripAdvisor is creating a “badge” notification to apply to businesses to alert consumers of health & safety or discrimination issues at that business reported on within the media or other credible sources of information.

We will continue to work to improve and evolve our moderation and publishing guidelines as we work to provide the most accurate information in the travel industry available online.

http://www.businessinsider.my/tripad...eport-2017-11/

It is a family site so it makes sense why they would keep it PG.

[Deleted]

http://www.businessinsider.my/tripad...eport-2017-11/

It is a family site so it makes sense why they would keep it PG.

make sense to hide truth from people?? people have right to know if the place they're going to is dangerous!!

[noidentity]

It's their site, they can do what they want with it.

A TripAdvisor spokesperson provided the following comment to Business Insider:

TripAdvisor has always maintained – since our founding – a strict separation between our commerce and content businesses. Despite assertions and statements made by a recent USA Today article, there is no tie between commercial relationships with our partners and how our content guidelines are applied to reviews or forum posts published on the site.

We apologize to the sexual assault victim, reported on in the article, who had her forum post removed 7 years ago on TripAdvisor. Since 2010, when the forum post was removed, our policies and processes have evolved to better provide information like this to other travelers. As a result, when recently brought to our attention, the victim’s initial forum post was republished by our staff.

In fact, a simple Internet search will show numerous reviews from travelers over the last several years who wrote about their first hand experiences that include matters of robbery or theft, assault and rape. We believe any first hand experience should be posted to our site as a means to communicate to other consumers looking for information on where they should travel.

We are horrified that this victim experienced this assault on her vacation in Mexico, and other travelers should be aware of this incident.

In order to better inform consumers and provide them with even more information about their travels, TripAdvisor is creating a “badge” notification to apply to businesses to alert consumers of health & safety or discrimination issues at that business reported on within the media or other credible sources of information.

We will continue to work to improve and evolve our moderation and publishing guidelines as we work to provide the most accurate information in the travel industry available online.

Bolded the important parts the OP forgot to.

[Deleted]

It is a family site so it makes sense why they would keep it PG.

It's a family site so the only thing that would ever make sense is to help parents protect their children. What you're saying is putting children in danger. Why are you even saying such crazy things?!

[Tennis]

It's a family site so the only thing that would ever make sense is to help parents protect their children. What you're saying is putting children in danger. Why are you even saying such crazy things?!

No. There are travel warnings on government websites. People need to be responsible.

[noidentity]

No. There are travel warnings on government websites. People need to be responsible.

Jumping on the "She had it coming" defense already?

[Deleted]

No. There are travel warnings on government websites. People need to be responsible.

Warning people of dangerous places is people being responsible. I can't believe that you would rather have sites delete these warnings and send people to dangerous locations, with kids no less. That's monstrous!

[ParanoiD84]

That's really fucked up.

[Ethris]

This should be reported to police, not fucking tripadvisor.

[Forogil]

This should be reported to police, not fucking tripadvisor.

And if the Mexican police in that area are not doing their job? (Assuming the actions are illegal there.)

Is there a problem with trip advisor giving people advise about the trip?

[Ashnazg]

And if the Mexican police in that area are not doing their job? (Assuming the actions are illegal there.)

Is there a problem with trip advisor giving people advise about the trip?

The main problem is that people are liars and are unreliable. Hearsay and slander can seriously damage a businesses' reputation.

[Sliske]

Jumping on the "She had it coming" defense already?

Theres a difference between saying "you shouldn't have been out at night" in America, and "you shouldn't have went to Somalia"

One is where the person lives and they should be able to leave their house at any time of the day, without fear of being raped.

The other is a war-torn shit hole, famed for murder and rape. Everyone knows this. Going to there of your own free will is stupid.

There comes a point when blame can be shifted in part to the victim, and that point is around the same time you start entering a den of lions and hoping not to be eaten.

[Tumble]

Jumping on the "She had it coming" defense already?

You shouldn't be surprised when people travel to shithole countries that are run by corrupt politicians and populated with "people" who place no value on human life, and are raped, robbed, murdered, or often, all three. Especially women that travel to countries where they have less rights than domestic pets.

[Grapemask]

Theres a difference between saying "you shouldn't have been out at night" in America, and "you shouldn't have went to Somalia"

One is where the person lives and they should be able to leave their house at any time of the day, without fear of being raped.

The other is a war-torn shit hole, famed for murder and rape. Everyone knows this. Going to there of your own free will is stupid.

There comes a point when blame can be shifted in part to the victim, and that point is around the same time you start entering a den of lions and hoping not to be eaten.

However, Mexico is not Somalia, despite what a certain orange may say.

[Deleted]

It's a pretty retarded move

[Sliske]

However, Mexico is not Somalia, despite what a certain orange may say.

sure. my point was in response to that comment, not this particular case

[Forogil]

The main problem is that people are liars and are unreliable. Hearsay and slander can seriously damage a businesses' reputation.

That people are unreliable is a general problem with reviews.

But that goes both for positive and negative reviews - false positive reviews can build a business, especially for something like tourist hotels that don't have to rely on repeat customers.

[Aeula]

Ugh... the 'family friendly' excuse.

That said if their descriptions of the alleged rape were particularly graphic I can sort of understand.

[breadisfunny]

However, Mexico is not Somalia, despite what a certain orange may say.

no its more like iraq than somalia in that the government doesn't even really control it's own country and has to be propped up by outside countries.

[zEmini]

How is a site a "family site" Are children reading up places to travel? Irrelevant